Improvement in forming and tempering wire



l C, H. MORGAN.

Forming and Temperng Wire'.

No. l207,20I. Patented Aug. 20,1878.

FLSA.

Wil-lr' E 5 eva.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, CHARLES H. MORGAN of Worcester, 'county of Worcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in FormingA and y Tcmpering' -Wire or Metallic Springs at a Continuous Operation ,l of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to rthe formation Lof. coiled-wire springs `5 and consistsv in the herein-described method of successively and con# tinuously heating, hardening, and tempering, and automaticallycoiling wire While it yet retains its temperingLheat into the shape of the spring which it is desired 'to produce, said method enabling me to produce coiled springs the natural` tendency of which are to remain in coil form, and to` produce them cheaper and better than `those made in the old way.

' Coiled springs are now madeonnv cold iron" or steel wire drawn suiicientl'y hard' before being coiled to give it the necessary stiii'ness, or from. cold iron` or steel wire more or less stili, which, after being coiled, is tempered'by baking or otherwise, which latter step, it is thought, aids the spring to remain inl coiled form. I have discovered by experiment, and the fact is wellknowu, that a piece of iron or steel shapedwhile yet retaining its vtemper- ;ing-heat will always retain that shape as its normal position, whereas, if a spring metal is I shaped cold, the tendency of themetal always 1 is to assume the form into which the said metal was cooled. Inthe formation of coiled springs this tendency is in ameasure overcome by i giving the material composing the spring au excess of curve when bent into the spring i form.

v The invention also consists in the combination, in a spring-forming machine, of rotat= ing feeding-rollers, positivelyrotated grooved' bending-rollers, and a coiling-roller arranged between the peripheries of the bending-rollers., to operate substantially as hereinafter described; also, in the combination, with wirefeeding mechanism and grooved bendingrolL ers, of a ceiling-roller arranged. between the peripheries of the bending-rollers, and a pat; tern-surface to change the position of the coil'- ingroller with relation to the bending-rollers, to automatically 4form al spring of varying cnnnnns n. MORGAN, or Woncnsrnn, Mnssncnusnr'rs.

IMPROVEMENT iN FoRMlNG AND TEMPE'RING wins.,

l Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 207,201, dated August 20, 1878; application filed February 1 1878.

Figure l 4represents my spring-Collin gmechanisrn arranged at the end of ahardening and tempering furnace or apparatus, the latter being shown in central longitudinal section, and

the former in section on the lines wx, Fi gl 5; Fig.

2, a front view of the spring-forming mechanism g Fig. 8, a section through the driving mechanism t iereof 'on line y y, Fig. 5 Fig. 4, a partial rear view; Fig. 5, a top view; Figs. 6 and 7, some of the forms of springs which may be sents the coiling-roller.

The heating, hardening, and tempering` mechanism herein vemployed may be ofv any ordinary construction but I have shown, as

31,361, February 5, 1861, to which reference may be had, thereby mahingit .unnecessary to further describe it. Y I The. groov'ed feedingrollers i a `b', which feed the wire to the sprin g-coilingvv mechanism, are attached lto shafts c d, the shaft' c being provided with a driving-pulley, e, and with a pinion, f, that engages a pinion, g, on the shaft d. The wire, placed in a guide, 11,111 advance.

of the feed-rollers, is passed between such roll-- ers at the back thereof, then through the con-1 ductor i, and between thebendin glrollersj k and the coiling-rollcr n. The bending-rollersj k are grooved, and have their peripheries arranged in the arc of a circle about the coilingfroller, the latter being so arranged between the peripheries of said `bending-rollers that each bending-roller comes in contact with portions ofthe hot wire as it--fed directly from the tempering-bath G--is coiled into a spring about the coiling-roller.

.'The ceiling-roller, remainingperipheries of the two roilers j k, as described, acts upon one side of the wire, while the roll,-

ers j 7c act upon the other side ofthe wire at opposite sides the axis of rotation of the coiling-roller, and consequently the wire is --posirtivelybent. about the coiling-roller,'restingbetween the two rollers j k. -Between the contiguous peripherical portions of the rollers j la is placed a guide-piece,

m, preferably concavedat itslowcr end to dif rect the wire from the' periphery of roller j to theperiphery of vroller lc and about the between .the

coiling-rollelythe said ceiling-roller, bendingrollers, and guide 'co-operatin g together to simultaneously guide, bend, and wrap or coil the Wire about the ceiling-roller, it snpportin g centrally the coil of the spring being made.

The roller j has on its shaft a pinion, o, engaged by `a toothed idlewheel, p, gearing with pinion g. This pinion ev also gears with a second idle-wheel, q, supported upon a stud, r, and rotates a pinion, s, attached to' the shaft of roller. 7c. The ceiling-roller n, is carried in this instance by a-n arm, t, secured to a shat't,u, provided with a second arm, fu, having a pin adapted to be vstruck by a cam, w, en a rotating shaft, provided with -a pinion, al, driven from pinion 4 on shaft c through a pinion, b".

The wire a? from which the spring is to be formed is hea-ted in the heating apparatus A, after which it passes through the usual hardening or quenching bath 5, and then into the tempering-bath 6, or vat containing, preferabiy,'itused metal or alloy, from whence it is conducted through the leading-guide between the feed-rollers, thence through the conductor and between the bendingrollers j k on the one side, and the ceiling-roller on the other side, 'he latter roller holding the wire up te and between the rollers j lf, so that the wire, while yet retaining its tempering-heat, maybe curved or shaped into the desired form for the spring to be produced7 and thereafter the spring will remain in the shape given it.

rihe curve in the wire is made more or less abrupt or short, according' to the position et' the ceiling-roller with reference to the periphcries oi' the bending-rollers j k, the diameter of the spring being less when the ceiling-roller is nearest the bight of the rollers j 7s,- but as the ceiling-roller is moved away from the rollcrsj k the diameter of the sprin gis increased. El 1e' eoiiing-rollcr will be made adjustable with reference to the bending-rollersj c fordiierentsized springs, and when held in one position the spring will be substantially cylindrical. To heid it in one position, I prefer to employ a circular wheel instead et' cam w. If itis desired to forni furniture and other springs of 'varying diameter from end to end, or of hourglass shape, the ceiling-roller -will be caused to vary its position with reference to the bendin g-rollers j 7tby means of a'suit-able patternnoteer 1 cam, w, operating, as shown in this instance', on the arm c, projecting from the shaft carrying the arm which supports the ceiling-roller. The pattern-cam shown in the drawing will move the coilingroller so as to cause the bending-rollers j 7c, acting in connection with it, to form a spring of hour-glass shape, as shownin Fig. 7 but it is obvious that pattern-cams of ether shapes will enable the production et' springs of other forms, according to the purposes to which they are to be applied.

The shaft supporting the arm and ceiling-` `ening, and tempering, and then coilin g the wire inte spring form while it yet retainsits telnpering-heat, substantially as described.l

2. 1n a machine to form springsthe following instrumentalities, viz: feeding mechanism a b, lpositively-rotated grooved bending-rollers,

' and a eoilingroller arranged between theirlperipheries, as shown and described, the bending and coilin g rollers co-operatin g to coil the-wire, all substantially as described.

3. A pair of grooved Abending'rollersfand wire-feeding mechanism, in combinatienwith a ceiling-roller arranged between theperiphcries of the bendingrollers and a pattern-snrface to vary theposition of the coilingroller with reference to the bending-rollers, substantially as described.

4. Thefeedin g mechanism and aconducton'fi, to direct the wire, in combination withpgrooved bending-rollers and a ceiling-roller, te4 operate all substantiallyas described.

In testimonywhereor" I have signedmy. name te this specification in the presence' ofV two subscribin g witnesses.

. CEAS. H. MQRGAN.

Witnesses:

(1I-IAS. II. BURLEIGH, FRANK F. BULLAnD. 

